


rise in perfect light

by Jemi



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fill, Stargazing, cats are actual cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29429211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jemi/pseuds/Jemi
Summary: an evening spent beneath the stars.
Relationships: Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger (Cats)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	rise in perfect light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KineticJellyfish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KineticJellyfish/gifts).



> cats fic? in MY 2021? it's more likely than you think.
> 
> i don't really write much for this fandom these days, but i've had this sitting as an old prompt fill that i never posted in my wip folder for awhile and i thought i'd clean it up and post it for valentine's day. hope you all enjoy!

It wasn’t very often that the London sky offered the chance for much in the way of viewing the stars. 

The moon was another story entirely, of course, and there was no doubt that every Jellicle cat that called the city their home was grateful for that. The stars, however, being mere pinpricks when compared to the all-seeing eye of the Everlasting herself, were less often seen in the sky above the city. Between the smog that so often blanketed the streets and the far brighter lights from human dens that almost never went completely dark, it was quite a rare occasion indeed when one was able to spot more than a small handful of them shining overhead, and a rarer treat still to witness a night so clear as to fill to sky with thousands of tiny, twinkling lights. 

Needless to say, when those nights did come about, there were very few felines that would pass up the opportunity to take in such a glorious sight. 

Mistoffelees was, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, chief among their ranks. There was something about the night sky that had always captivated him, ever since he’d been a tiny kitten trying to use the stars to find his way home after he’d vanished himself from the junkyard. Despite their ineffectiveness in that particular situation, they’d been quite a source of fascination in the years that followed. His magic may have been tied intrinsically to the moon, but that hardly meant he couldn’t appreciate the stars as well -- or, find them quite a mystery to perhaps one day unravel. 

This was, he’d found, especially true when one had someone with whom to watch said stars.

“Do try not to fall again, darling,” Tugger’s voice called from below as Mistoffelees leapt deftly up the trellis that leaned against the side of his humans’ abode. One hardly needed to be able to see the maine coon’s expression to tell that his eyes were glittering with mischief -- and as such, Mistoffelees was already scowling when he reached the ledge that had been his destination and turned to face him.

“I have no idea  _ what  _ you’re talking about,” he told Tugger primly, flicking his bobbed tail as if to punctuate the sentiment. “I’ve never fallen before in my life.”

Much to Mistoffelees’ dismay, the smirk on Tugger’s face only widened. “Ah, yes, of course. What was it you called it again -- the time when your humans stuck that funny cone over your head for a week?”

“ _ Jumping without control _ . I could have made it across that railing just fine if I hadn’t lost my balance and you know it.” 

To this, Tugger only threw back his head and laughed as he began to climb the trellis himself, ignoring the way the aging wood creaked and groaned beneath his weight. Agility, Mistoffelees knew, had never been a strong suit of his dearest mate’s, but the two of them had climbed this path so many times together that neither of them held any real fear of falling. In moments, the maine coon had pulled himself up onto the ledge beside Mistoffelees, who barely had time to react before Tugger had pressed his forehead affectionately against his own. 

“And who am I to doubt the magical Mister Mistoffelees, hm?” the maine coon purred, and despite their bickering, Mistoffelees himself couldn’t help but lean into the affection, if only for a fleeting moment. 

“ _ Enough _ ,” he huffed fondly, reaching out to gently push Tugger’s face away with his paw. “Honestly. The stars will all be gone by the time we reach the roof, if you keep this up.”

“Oh, as if we need the  _ stars! _ ” Tugger gave a melodramatic sigh. “They’ve nothing at all on your pelt -- have I told you that before?”

Mistoffelees was suddenly very grateful he’d already turned away to continue climbing. Had he been facing Tugger, part of him was certain the larger cat would have been able to tell the very moment when the tips of his ears had begun to burn. “You’re insufferable.” 

“And yet, here I remain, being  _ suffered _ ,” Tugger purred, self-satisfaction practically oozing from his tone as he followed his mate up the nearby drainpipe. “I suppose you’ve built up quite the tolerance to my presence in all this time. Or, am I to understand that you’ve kept me around for some other reason, perhaps?”

“Oh, I suppose I  _ must _ have a few,” Mistoffelees replied loftily, glancing briefly over his shoulder with a smirk. “You’re not half bad to look at, for one.” 

Their good-natured squabbling petered off rather quickly after that. Getting up onto the ledge via the trellis was, unfortunately, the only easy bit of climbing the side of Mistoffelees’ home. Once there, the going became just a touch too tricky to navigate without a good measure of concentration, especially for Tugger, who didn’t quite possess his mate’s considerable dexterity. This, however, didn’t concern either of them too much. They  _ were  _ cats, after all, and although human architecture could do its level best to impede their progress, there never was (and likely never would be) a feline worth their salt that couldn’t conquer it.

Higher and higher they climbed, over ledges and past windows aglow with warm light, until at last, they had reached the highest point of the rooftop. Mistoffelees allowed himself the tiniest of elegant flourishes as he made his final leap and all four of his paws landed solidly on the rough surface of the roof. Below, the streets of Victoria Grove lay silent and still, peaceful in the glow of street lamps, and beyond that sprawled the rest of the London skyline, caught in that state between dark and day where the very last vestiges of sunset still clung to the sky, turning it watercolor shades of violet and cerulean. 

“ _ Marvelous _ .”

Mistoffelees’ ears twitched lightly as he turned his head to face Tugger, who had joined him so swiftly and so silently that he’d been caught by surprise at the sound of his voice. The maine coon’s warm, amber eyes practically glittered out of the dusky twilight gloom and it quickly became evident to Mistoffelees that he was decidedly  _ not  _ looking at the city lights twinkling against the sky.

His own features softened, and without thinking, he rose to cross the distance between them, nuzzling into Tugger’s thick ruff as he neared. “Flatterer,” Mistoffelees murmured, although the potential sharpness of the word did very, very little to hide the unmistakable fondness it held. “I’d be careful if I were you, you know. You’re going to give me an ego worse than yours one of these days, if you keep up like this.”

“Ah, but what a well-deserved ego it would be,” Tugger purred, dipping his head to rasp his tongue across the top of his mate’s head as he whisked his feathery tail around Mistoffelees’ smaller frame. “Frankly, I’m surprised you don’t already think the world of yourself -- although, I suppose that would rather put  _ me _ out of a job, wouldn’t it?” 

Mistoffelees chuckled quietly as he settled down, leaning into the soft expanse of Tugger’s pelt. “That it would. And, then where would I be without my lovely assistant, hm?”

Overhead, the last remnants of light slowly by surely vanished behind the silhouette of London laid out below them, staining the sky first a rich navy blue and then, shortly afterwards, a velvety black. The two cats atop the roof sat in companionable quiet, basking in one another’s presence as the world around them darkened, like a stage in those scant few seconds before the curtain rose. For a long moment, it seemed as though all the world held its breath in anticipation.

One by one, the stars began to emerge, tiny pinpricks of light twinkling high above their heads, as if someone had embedded chips of diamond into the sky. It was, perhaps, not quite so impressive as it might have been -- but to two cats that had never once ventured outside the city’s confines, this glimpse of the heavens was quite the rare treat. Mistoffelees allowed his eyes to slide shut as he reveled in the touch of moonlight on his coat and the sweet, cool scent of the night air mingling pleasantly with the rich warmth of his mate’s as they sat together beneath the stars. 

“Oh, Misto, look,” came Tugger’s voice a moment later, accompanied by a gentle nudge to his shoulder. Obligingly, Mistoffelees opened his mismatched eyes -- just in time to watch a tiny streak of bright light blaze across the sky before it vanished, fading into nothing as it neared the horizon. 

His ears twitched. “...A soul from the Heaviside,” Mistoffelees murmured, leaning into Tugger’s mane before looking up at the larger cat. “Have you ever seen one before?”

“Once or twice.” Tugger’s gaze had yet to shift from the sky, a fact that was slightly concerning and one that Mistoffelees had to resist from pressing. It wasn’t likely to get him anywhere, knowing his mate. “Straps used to point them out to me when we were young -- he had something of a knack for spotting them, I suppose.”

“That’s not surprising. He’s observant, your brother.” Mistoffelees smirked, giving Tugger a small nudge in hopes of drawing his attention away from the stars just long enough to ground him. “If he can spot the kittens causing trouble from across the junkyard, I’m sure a few falling souls aren’t very much trouble.” 

That drew a quiet chuckle out of Tugger, although there was something almost thoughtful that lingered behind his eyes as his gaze was drawn back to the stars. “...I expect we’ll be hearing an announcement of kittens any day now. Who do you suppose it might be this time?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Mistoffelees replied vaguely, less concerned with his answer and more so with watching his mate’s expression. It was just a touch too pensive for his liking. In fact, it very nearly bordered on  _ brooding _ . “...I think Lonz might have mentioned something about it the other day. He and Cassandra are rather overdue, I suppose.” 

All he received in return was a quiet rumble of acknowledgement as Tugger continued to watch the stars, his feathery tail twitching faintly. Mistoffelees hardly needed to guess the reason for his mate’s sudden, uncharacteristic reticence. It hadn’t been so very long, after all, since they’d both watched his mother’s ascent to the Heaviside. By now, he and Tugger had long-since traded their reassurances and comfort regarding everything that had occurred at the Ball, of course. Regardless, Mistoffelees knew well that a few short months was hardly enough time to fully come to terms with it all. And with the added certainty of one day seeing Grizabella again in some form or another...

Gently, he pressed his muzzle to Tugger’s shoulder, leaning into the thick, fluffy expanse of his mane. “It’ll be alright, Tug. That’s just an old queens’ tale, anyway -- those lights could be anything, you know.” 

The maine coon stirred and, to Mistoffelees’ relief, purred quietly as he leaned down to nuzzle the smaller cat’s ears. “Oh, of course, darling. Of course it will.” Tugger sighed as he drew back, his gaze flickering back to the sky for the briefest of moments. “You mustn't listen to all my fuss and bother. I’m sure it’s terribly unbecoming.” 

Mistoffelees’ whiskers twitched in amusement. “Me, not listen to you? I suppose that won’t be so difficult. I’ll just have to carry on as normal.”

To this, Tugger merely chuckled, swishing his tail around the smaller tom as Mistoffelees leaned upwards to bump their foreheads together. Over their heads, the stars continued to shine, twinkling against the inky blackness of the night sky. Despite their momentary upset, Mistoffelees felt a deep sense of peace settle between them. 

Whatever was to come would be seen to — that much was more certain to him than the rising of the sun each morning. For now, it seemed far more preferable to focus on the present: the stars, his mate and the glorious evening stretching out ever-lovelier before them.

They had, he thought, quite the good start indeed on their paws.


End file.
